Mayor says it’s his best year yet

Mayor says it’s his best year yet

Mayor Doug Craig says Cambridge is in pretty good shape compared to the broader economy.

“This is my 13th year and this is the best year since I became mayor,” Craig said, prior to his 2013 State of the City address on Thursday. “We have a balanced budget and relatively little debt, which is something a lot of cities can’t say.”

City statistics show the Cambridge has an outstanding debt of $19.3 million, which is considerably lower than Kitchener, $98.1 million; Waterloo, $70 million; Guelph, $120 million, or cities in the GTA and Golden Horseshoe.

“Things are going pretty well,” Craig said, pointing to a number of construction projects that are being completed or slated to start shortly.

Work is slated to begin on the second tower of Waterscape this spring and it will be ready for occupancy in the summer of 2014. The Preston Springs Gardens will become either a boutique, hotel or condominiums. The Boxwood Industrial Park will be ready to go this summer. In Hespeler, preliminary work continues on the former American Standard Building. Waterloo Region has just completed the new Delta overpass on Hespeler Road and the new Fairway Road Bridge connecting Kitchener to Cambridge, and work will soon begin on the Franklin Boulevard roundabouts.

This year, the State of the City event was held in the lobby of the almost finished Dunfield Theatre that’s slated to open March 8. The event allowed Craig’s guests to get a sneak peak of the new 500-seat facility, which will be operated by Drayton Entertainment.

Later this year, the city will launch streetscaping studies for the Preston and Hespeler core areas. The recommendations from the studies will form the basis of a work plan for civic improvements in those communities.

Craig’s list of quality of life improvements for Cambridge also includes the redevelopment of the Old Galt Post Office – which will enable the Queen’s Square Library branch to expand – and the development of new arts and culture initiatives.

“Projects like these are essential to the success of the city in attracting and retaining companies, as well as professionals,” he said. “When people are looking for a place to live they look at what the community has to offer in terms of theatres, libraries, parks, trails and things to do.”

Although Cambridge is weathering the recession relatively well, Craig said the city is also faced with a number of challenges.

“Waterloo Region still has a six per cent unemployment rate, which might not seem too bad, but we also have a shortage of affordable housing which has grown from 800 to 1,400 units. The Cambridge Shelter is overflowing with a whole new generation of seniors,” he said.

Demand for emergency food hampers at the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank is also increasing and local government no longer has the resources to address increasing demands on social programs.

Craig said he’s working with big city mayors across the country to go after upper levels of government to bring about change.

“We can’t keep raising taxes and user fees to pay the bills. We need a larger share of the taxes that we already pay to the province and Ottawa,” he said.

Meanwhile, the crusade to bring GO trains to Cambridge suffered a setback last fall as Metrolinx unveiled its Big Move plan.

“If they are allowed to go ahead with it, it will be another 15 to 25 years before we see a GO Train here, which is totally unacceptable,” Craig said.

He wants to work with Waterloo Region and the mayors of other affected municipalities like Milton to have the plan changed.

“Overall things are going pretty well, but there’s still a lot of work to do,” he said.